Rufus Norris makes his first London directing return since leaving the National, Conor McPherson adapts Before the Coffee Gets Cold and the musical The Book Thief reaches London, all in the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre's 2027 season.
The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre has mapped out its 2027 programme, and it starts in January. The theatre's own announcement lists seven productions between January and November: three world premieres, three London premieres and one return, alongside a new studio residency for Hackney Showroom. Tickets for the whole season went on sale at 10am on 27 October, priced from £10.
Artistic director Rachel O'Riordan described the line-up as "a statement of intent: a big, bold celebration of our audience and the artists who make such incredible work here." She is also directing one of the new pieces herself.
Jaja's African Hair Braiding (28 January - 27 February)
The year opens with a return. Jaja's African Hair Braiding, Jocelyn Bioh's Tony Award-winning comedy set in a Harlem braiding salon, comes back after its sell-out run at the Lyric earlier this year. Monique Touko directs again; she and Bioh previously teamed up on School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play. Press night is 2 February.
Nice Pair (8-20 March)
In the Lyric's studio, Hackney Showroom begins a new residency under the name Hackney Showroom at the Lyric. The company plans two world premieres there, not yet named, and starts with Nice Pair, a fortnight-long festival given over entirely to double acts. Four duos will be chosen through an open call, each paid £6,000 to build a new show with the company's artistic team and then perform it for a week. Applications open on 27 October and close at 5pm on 29 November 2026; the full brief is on the Hackney Showroom website.
Co-artistic directors Sam Curtis Lindsay and Nina Lyndon said: "We're thrilled to be launching our next decade with an ambitious new partnership with the esteemed Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. Hackney Showroom has spent our first decade turning innovation and risk into success and when we spoke to Rachel at the Lyric, we knew immediately we shared a vision for the future of theatre." To mark its first ten years the company has also released Come Inside, a short film performed by Ms Sharon Le Grand that stitches together moments from past productions including Burgerz and The Legends of Them.
Once Upon a Time in Sokoto (13 April - 8 May)
Inua Ellams's play, winner of the 2024 Alfred Fagon Award, gets its London premiere in a Fuel presentation directed by Roy Alexander Weise. It traces the friendship between an enslaved woman and the man who once owned her, played out against the events that led to the creation of Nigeria. What the critics made of its earlier run is in our review roundup from Royal & Derngate. Press night is 16 April.
Brock's Mill (13 May - 5 June)
Rufus Norris directs in London for the first time since stepping down as artistic director and chief executive of the National Theatre. Stewart Pringle's play is set in the world of stop-motion film-making, with animation by Astrid Goldsmith. It is a Royal Shakespeare Company production, opening first at The Other Place in Stratford-upon-Avon and coming to Hammersmith in association with the Lyric. Press night in Hammersmith is 18 May. Norris has also been named as director of the final James Play, James VI: First and Last.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold (17 June - 17 July)
Conor McPherson has adapted Toshikazu Kawaguchi's bestselling novel, which receives its world premiere here. The story unfolds in a café where customers can travel through time, as long as they stick to its rules, the key one being that they must be back in the present before their coffee goes cold. Kawaguchi first wrote the story as a play for a small Tokyo theatre, so the adaptation takes it back to the stage. It is presented in association with Melting Pot, Gail Berman/SK Global and Lombardo & Zell Productions, and press night is 23 June.
The Book Thief (24 July - 28 August)
The musical version of Markus Zusak's novel arrives in London for its premiere here, based on the original Octagon Theatre Bolton production directed by Lotte Wakeham. Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson wrote the music and lyrics, the libretto is by Jodi Picoult and Timothy Allen McDonald, and Tom Jackson Greaves directs. Press night is 30 July. The Lyric produces alongside DEM Productions and Writers' Cage, with Andrew Paradis in association with Bethany Cooper Productions.
The Young Team (31 August - 25 September)
O'Riordan directs Kieran Hurley's stage version of Graeme Armstrong's novel, co-produced with the National Theatre of Scotland. Its hero, Azzy, is a young man in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who is drawn into a local gang, and the play deals in friendship, loyalty, violence and belonging. After a first run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe it plays Hammersmith, then moves on to the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. Press night is 3 September. "I am so proud to be directing Kieran Hurley's stage version of The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong," O'Riordan said.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (7 October - 6 November)
The season ends with another world premiere: Alistair McDowall's adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel, directed by Sarah Frankcom. It follows what is left of the Blackwood family, living cut off from the world after most of their relatives have died. Press night is 13 October.
The whole season is booking now at the Lyric Hammersmith: Jaja's African Hair Braiding from 28 January to 27 February, Once Upon a Time in Sokoto from 13 April to 8 May, Brock's Mill from 13 May to 5 June, Before the Coffee Gets Cold from 17 June to 17 July, The Book Thief from 24 July to 28 August, The Young Team from 31 August to 25 September, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle from 7 October to 6 November 2027.
